Metals

Metals are held together by metallic bonds- a sea of free moving electrons shared by all the atoms. Shown to the right. The gray circles are the atoms in fixed positions and the red moving ones are the elctrons.

Metal elements are found on the left side of the periodic table- shown in blue on the table below.

Metals conduct electricity because the electrons are charged and free to move. Metals are shiny, malleable and ductile.

Metals have a low electronegativity (pull on their electrons), so m tend to lose electrons to form ions with a positive charge.